High School Days
by KH777
Summary: An A.U. of Seraph of the End where the characters are in a regular high school setting, though isn't a complete A.U. (Yu's family is still dead and whatnot, Guren took him in). Kinda sorta follows the events of the first season. How will Yuichiro fare when he begins to make friends again after four years?
1. Chapter 1: His First Friend

This is a _Seraph of the End_ fan fiction. This is an A.U. where the characters are in a regular high school setting. I did try to make it on character as possible, but since it's an A.U., they will probably be a bit OOC.

Yuichiro Hyakuya was not a social person. Not since what happened to his family four years ago. After the orphanage was burned down via a fire and he was the only survivor. Everyone claimed the fire was an accident, but he had never quite believed that such a large scale fire could be so fatal. Due to his belief, he hated people who attacked others without cause. He had skirmishes with bullies every now and then because off it. Since the fire, he had been taken in by a man the name of Guren Ichinose.

The second year held his chin in his hand as he stared out the window and sighed. He really hated school, really. But he tried to get at least decent grades because when he didn't Guren would go on about how much of much of a pain he was. And he did have a sense of gratitude to the man who has taken him in, though he wouldn't admit it.

Gazing from the window to the front of the class, he noticed two unfamiliar faces. One was a short girl with lavender hair braided back with a bow and a small brunet boy. The teacher introduced them as Shinoa Hiragi and Yoichi Saotome. Yu only paid half attention until his heard that _he_ was in charge of showing them around.

"What?! Why me?" Yu protested.

The sensei responded calmly that since group projects were coming up and he didn't have anyone, and they didn't as well, it made sense for them to be shown around by him as well. And, the only empty seats in the classroom also happened to be to his direct left and behind him. The two new students strolled up to him. Yoichi bowed politely.

"My name is Yoichi Saotome, nice to meet you, Hyakuya." Yoichi smiled. _Maybe this won't be so bad._ Yu thought.

"And I'm Shinoa Hiragi!" The girl added smirking playfully. _I take that back._ Yu frowned.

"Why are we even introducing ourselves? We already know each other's names." He pointed out.

"Yeah, but it felt like the polite thing to do..." Yoichi remarked sheepishly, before the sensei encouraged them to take their seats. Yoichi was next to him, while Shinoa was behind him. Yu knew that she was going to be annoying the second she opened her mouth. His beliefs were founded when she began to poke at back of his seat, and ask questions. He was already annoyed. Ugh. She was enjoying irritating him too.

"Hey Yu~ where's the gym?"

"Do you know when the next field trip is?"

"How many second years are in this school anyway?"

Finally, he has enough of her questions. "Yoichi, would you help me out here?" He spoke in a hiss.

"Umm... Maybe it would be better to ask questions after class?" Yoichi urged, laughing nervously. Even though they were in the back of the classroom, they could still get in trouble for talking. Once seeing the two of them teamed up against her, she pouted a bit and gave up.

Class ended a bit later, and Yu turned around to face his two partners. "Tour time!" Shinoa smiled.

Lazily, Yu stood upright. "Alright, well, keep up with me." As the trio made their way around the school, the black haired boy realized he was becoming more comfortable with the brunet than he had been with anyone for a while. It was strange to him. Why was he feeling this way? He had only known him for a few hours... Maybe it was because he was kind, gentle and easy to get along with?

They took a break when they reached the science lab, as Shinoa claimed a bathroom break. As the duo set down their schoolbags, Yoichi was making conversation, when he accidentally bumped into a vial and it spilled into a burner used for experiments. The substance in the flask was flammable and a flame briefly shot up before dying swiftly. The brunet's eyes widened in horror and he fell backwards with a yelp.

"Some idiot forgot to turn off the burner." Yu shook his head bitterly, clicking it off. _Stupid idiots like them are the reason fires happen._ He kneeled down to see Yoichi's face was as white as a sheet. "You didn't get burned did you?"

"N-no..." He gulped and tried to regain his composure. _Why is he freaking out this much? Unless..._

"...Have you been in a fire before?"

His companion nodded grimly, tears filling his eyes and beginning to spill out onto his face. "When I was a bit younger, my sister and I were alone when it happened... A-and she didn't make it out."

"Oh." Yu mumbled. Is that why he felt so connected to him? It seemed Yoichi felt the same. After all, you wouldn't usually reveal something so personal to someone you just met. "The same thing happened to me." _What the heck!? Why did I just tell him something that personal?_ He was usually a closed off person. Maybe it was the opportunity for someone to truly understand what he went through? Sure, Guren tried to help but there was only so much an outsider, who had never been in a fire, could understand.

From the sparkle in his eyes (or perhaps it was just tears) he thought Yoichi was thinking the same thing. "R-really?"

"Erm, yeah, but don't go around saying that."

"H-hyakuya..." Yoichi sniffled, before he sobbed and wrapped his arms around his waist, sobbing into his shoulder. Usually, he would push him off, but he didn't have the heart. Stiffening, Yu was not expecting this at all and uncomfortably reached for a tissue box. Just then, Shinoa returned and she mused. "Oh, what did I miss while I was gone?"

"None of your business." Yu snapped, handing the tissue box to Yoichi as he detached from him.

Shinoa grinned. "You didn't make the poor boy cry did you?"

"I-I didn't!" He insisted. "Listen. Let's just finish the tour alright?"

"Is Yoichi up for that?" Shinoa frowned, glancing at him with a more serious expression. As he calmed himself, the trembling of his body lessened.

"I-I'm fine..." Yoichi managed a weak smile. "Thank you, Hyakuya."

"You don't have to be so formal. First name is fine."

"Uh, okay, Yuichiro."

It didn't take long for the three teens to finish the tour and they went their separate ways. As they were walking, they realized all of them lived the same direction.

"Why don't we walk home together?" Shinoa suggested.

"Why?" Yu frowned, wanting to be alone for a bit.

"Because we're friends, silly."

"I don't remember agreeing to that."

"What? Y-you don't want to be friends, Yuichiro?" Yoichi's eyes drooped and he bit his lip, his gaze drifting to the floor. _Oh crap, I don't want him to start crying again._

"That's not what I said! And I wasn't talking to you, Yoichi." Then in a gentler voice he added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "...I wouldn't mind being friends with _you._ "

The brunet smiled vibrantly while Shinoa placed a hand on her chest dramatically. "Straight to the heart!"

Rolling his eyes, Yu gave in. "...Fine, fine. We can walk home together." Well, at least Guren would be happy that he finally made a friend, he couldn't remember the last time he'd had one, or desired one. It didn't take long before he approached his dwelling, with a smile on his face. The idea of having someone who truly understood what he was going through was enough to make him smile.

Grinning, he entered and tossed his school bag on the floor. "You're in an awfully good mood."

Lost in his own world, the teen jumped and whirled around to see his guardian. "Geez Guren! Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't. You spaced out." Guren defended. "Why are you grinning like an idiot?"

"I am not!" Yu snapped but his pleasant mood returned swiftly and he grinned. "I made a friend."

If Guren was drinking something, he would have spit it out because of that shocking statement. But he quickly regained his composure. "Took you long enough. So, who has the pleasure of dealing with you?"

"His name's Yoichi Saotome. I connected with him right away; it was weird, in a good way."

"Maybe it's because you're both weird." Guren shrugged, leaving him, though he was obviously pleased with the new development. He had told him several times that he needed someone his own age to hang out with, instead of just bugging him.


	2. Chapter 2: His Revenge

Author's note! Alright, I wanted to warn you that I base a lot of Shinya's personality in this to some fan fictions I read with him in them, as most of the anime scenes of him, he's in serious mode. I needed a bit of his non-seriousness to work off of. So, if he's a somewhat OOC, I apologize, I tried my best.

"Yuichiro!"

Hearing his name called, the black haired teen whipped his head around to see a blob of gray and brown, with a bit of black and green on his collar of his jacket. "Oh, you live this close, Yoichi?"

The boy nodded and pointed a bit of the way up, before coming in step with his new friend. He was kinda sticking to him like glue, and usually, Yu would find that annoying. But for some reason, he didn't. Maybe it was just because Yoichi just didn't have the capacity to be an annoying person. And he understood being in a place where you don't know anyone. It was only his second day after all. When his phone buzzed in his pocket, he curiously pulled it out and checked a new text from Guren.

 _You could have picked someone bigger._

He stared for a moment, before he remembered that he and Guren left at about the same time every morning. They just didn't socialize at this time, since they both weren't morning people. He probably got a glimpse of Yoichi on the way out.

"Who texted you?" Yoichi asked curiously.

"No one." Yu replied, as he thought of a witty reply. He didn't want Yoichi to know what Guren said either, it could hurt his feelings. Yoichi didn't press him anymore as he texted out the perfect retort.

 _And you could have picked someone less annoying._

Satisfied, he smirked. He was referring to his best friend Shinya. Sure, he had other close friends, Sayuri, Mito, Shigure and Goshi, but they either tended to go in groups or hang out at other places so he never saw them much. However, Shinya tended to dwell in their place for some reason.

 _That's fair._

Triumphantly, Yu smirked as he read the message and almost rammed straight into a telephone post, had Yoichi not stopped him. "Maybe you should put away your phone for now? I don't want you hurting yourself…"

Yu shrugged and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "I was done anyway."

The lavender haired girl soon joined them, living a bit closer to the school. "Great to see you two this fine morning," Shinoa smiled.

The brunet returned her smile. "Good to see you too."

"You two sure are chipper for so early in the morning." Yu remarked.

His female companion chuckled lightly. "Yu's not a morning person~ huh?"

"Dang straight I'm not. So, could you tone it down?"

"Nope, sorry~"

Sighing, Yu seriously doubted she was actually sorry. By the time they arrived at the school, they were still several minutes early so his friend, and his companion attempted to make conversation with him, but he decided that laying his head on the desk was what he would rather do. Except, he didn't intend to actually fall asleep, sleeping was not peaceful for him as he was still plagued with nightmares, and when he wasn't, he was light and jittery.

When class was about to start, Yoichi put a hand on his shoulder to lightly rouse him from sleep. For a normal person, it would have been fine. However for the young man in front of him, he jolted awake, his arm swung out, clutching painfully hard on his forearm. Startled, Yoichi let out a yelp, his hazel eyes wide and alarmed. As he came to awareness, the ebony haired boy released him, while Shinoa waved away the curious (and perhaps concerned) on-lookers.

"Sorry, Yoichi! I just… I'm just a light sleeper." Yu apologized, he can't believe he even fell asleep; usually it wasn't something that came easily to him.

"It's okay. It was just an accident." Yoichi assured in a nervous smile, rubbing his tender forearm.

Surprisingly, the rest of the day went on without a hitch. So, did their project and the next few weeks of school. During that time, he had come to accept Shinoa as his friend as well, and didn't find her annoying like he did initially. He supposed, Yoichi was the first step, which was often the hardest to make. That was until Yoichi didn't meet up where they were supposed to walk home together, and he set out a search for his friend.

"Hah, why don't you defend yourself, brat!?"

At the sound of the voice, Yu's blood began to boil. There was nothing that he hated more than bullies who attacked others without a reason, especially when it was completely one-sided. After all, he believed the death of his family to be arson, or at least the reckless stupidity of someone else. When he heard a familiar yelp, his fury only intensified. It wasn't just some random unfortunate kid who they were beating up, no, it was his friend.

Once he caught the sight, he was too blinded by his anger to be rational, as he saw three fairly broad boys, probably third years, all huddled around his poor friend that was lying on his side, beginning to curl into a ball to protect himself. He whimpered as the one in the middle had a foot pressed against his hair.

Aiming for a surprise assault, he sent the one in the middle flying against the wall with a powerful punch. With incredible speed, he kicked one of the other two, leaving only one left who didn't seem interested in fighting him and hesitated. Taking the opportunity, he easily knocked him over with a punch to the stomach. He snorted. _Of course cowards like that would be weak. They make fun of others, yet they are no better themselves._ To be fair, Guren _had_ taught him in training in self defense but still.

"Y-yu…?" Yoichi weak voice reached his ears and he winced at how horrid it sounded and he cracked his neck and knuckles. _Hmph, I hope these jerks get up so I can beat them up some more._ However, they showed no signs of picking themselves off the ground anytime soon and his eyes narrowed. _Seriously? I know I hit them hard but still, they're wimpy for bullies._ Or maybe they didn't want to be dealt more punishment so they pretended to be in lots of pain when they weren't. Kneeling down next to his brunet friend, he carefully assisted him to a sitting position as he coughed a bit.

"Are you alright? No, that's a stupid question. How bad is it?" Yu worried, glancing him over, his eyes lingering on his midsection that appeared to take much of the blows.

"I-I… Don't think anything is broken…" Yoichi replied with another cough.

That was really not a high standard. The young man frowned and was about to carry Yoichi out of here on his back, when Yoichi voice called out in warning. "L-look out!"

He didn't react swiftly enough as the middle one had stood upright and assaulted him while he was distracted taking care of Yoichi. It landed, leaving an ugly puffy bruise on his cheek. Scrambling back to his feet, he landed another blow on the brute. "You three are a bunch of cowards, all this uneven, unfair crap." His voice was dripping with bitterness and he reached down and was about to carry his friend on his back, when he insisted that he could walk. Deciding not to argue, he took one of his arms and gently hauled it over his shoulders as he walked. The poor boy had an obvious limp.

When some distance had been put between them, a girl with ruby eyes was staring wide eyes at them. "Oh, what happened?"

"Shinoa? I thought you left ages ago." Yu muttered as she closed the gap between them.

She frowned. "Yoichi, you look awful. Did someone do that to you?"

He nodded as tears edged their ways to the ends of his eyes. "They just… did it out of nowhere and… I pleaded with them to stop but…"

"Those jerks got what they deserved." Yu added coldly, gently running a hand through Yoichi's hair as he struggled to hold back tears.

"Don't worry, Yoichi, everything is okay now." Shinoa smiled, taking up his other arm to assist Yu in shouldering his weight.

"Here, we should go to my place, it's the closest. I'm sure there'll be a first aid kit there."

Nodding, the trio headed out. As they were nearing there, the thought that he had just gotten into a fight, _again_ , was enough to make him far from eager to return home. Guren was not going to be pleased, at all. Well, he can't exactly hide it since it's on his face; he knew that he'd have to face the music eventually. But he wasn't even his fault this time! Those cowardly jerks truly deserved it!

"Yu, this is your place isn't it?" Shinoa questioned, glancing up at it.

"Uh yeah, but how did you know?" Yu wondered. Shinoa couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"You haven't figured it out yet? I'm surprised, Yu."

"What are you talking about-"

Hold on a moment. Wasn't Shinya's last name Hiragi and… Shinoa Hiragi, Shinya Hiragi? Oh! He must be her older brother. He mentally face palmed at missing such an obvious thing. It was so clear too, he could totally see the resemblance.

"Oh good, you figured it out." Shinoa smiled. "My adoptive brother spends quite a bit of time here; I wouldn't be surprised if he was here right now."

"'Adopted'? I don't remember ever hearing that…" Yu thought, but perhaps he just didn't pay attention. "Anyway, let's just go. Yoichi needs help."

"Right." The trio of friends headed in single file to fit through the door and Yu heard voices and muttered something under his breath. It was Guren's voice and that of his silver haired best friend. Maybe if they could sneak by them… Unfortunately, Shinya was leaning his arms comfortable on the head of the chair he was sitting in and noticed them.

"Oh, I don't think I've seen you come here before, Sister." Shinya grinned jovially. Yu didn't know if he broke their cover because he was too dense to figure out they were sneaking, or because he _purposefully_ wanted to squeal on them. He found the latter more likely. Oh well, time to face the music.

At his friend's change of subject, Guren twisted around and he immediately scowled. "Oh great, I thought since you made friends now, you wouldn't get into fights anymore."

"It wasn't my fault! Those people beat Yoichi for no reason!" Yu defended himself instantly. "Now, we need to go help him-"

"If he's not dying, I'm sure you can spare a _few_ minutes."

"Ah, Guren, don't be so hard on your son. It's a natural thing to want to protect your friends." Shinya chided.

"I'm not his father." Guren retorted, instantly frowning, used to Shinya's antics. Usually, Yu and Guren would speak in unison about that, though, Yu didn't have the heart now. "I'm his guardian."

"Right, right, same difference." Shinya waved him away which Guren rolled his eyes at.

"Can I leave now?" Yu scowled.

"No." Guren replied. "Yoichi."

"Y-yes, sir?" Yoichi answered timidly.

"Did Yu provoke the boys who attacked you at all?"

The brunet shook his head, his hazel orbs focused on him. "N-no… Yu wasn't even there when they hurt me. We were supposed to meet up and… He went looking for me and found them attacking me so he just took them down. Uh well… I guess he did say something but only after they were all defeated."

"Hmm…" Guren hummed for a few tense moments in thought. "I guess it would be dumb to be angry at you for that. Plus, if I punished you, it would be sending a message to your idiot brain that defending yourself and your friends is a bad thing."

"Really?! Yes!" Yu grinned, and Shinya nodded in approval. Yoichi and Shinoa gave a sigh of relief as the trio left the room to dress Yoichi's injuries.

"Alright, now that's solved, can we go back to our conversation, Guren?" Shinya smirked.

"What were we even talking about?" Guren crossed his arms.

Shinya deflated like a balloon. "Ah, I can't believe you forgot!"

"Well, maybe I'd remember if you shut your mouth for a few seconds."

"Ouch, straight to the heart." Shinya frowned playfully. "But fine, I'll be quiet."

Meanwhile, Shinoa was sitting outside of the room, as Yu bandaged the bruises on Yoichi's chest. He had said it would make it uncomfortable for her to stay inside the room, so she had been considerate and promptly left. As she had nothing to do, she popped her head in wondering what her brother and Guren were speaking about. Ah, were they speaking about the businesses of the powerful Hiragi family? She couldn't be sure and couldn't help but eavesdrop. She's had no interest in joining in the fray since the death of her sister, but still, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Shinoa, I have eyes on the back of my head." Shinya grinned. "You can listen if you want though."

"My, I'm impressed with your senses." Shinoa returned the grin, coming out of hiding with her gray uniform, adorned with a sizable green bow and black skirt.

"Ah, yes. They are impressive aren't they?" Shinya remarked. "Though in all seriousness, they have to be, with me being the best sniper in the family."

Shinoa sighed, hoping that expertise of his would not have use anytime soon. It was a necessary precaution after what happened with Mahiru… Guren was dead silent and his grip had tightened on his glass of water. Mahiru was his lover after all, so Shinya hastily changed the subject in consideration of his friend.

"Anyway, as I was saying, I'll get in trouble with Kureto if I stay too long." Shinya regained his demeanor. "You _don't_ want to get on that guy's bad side."

Guren nodded in agreement, disliking the man as well as he regained himself and Shinya waved playfully as he left the room. "Good to have him out of my hair." He mumbled. "Hey Shinoa, Shinya's not gotten himself in any trouble has he?"

"Not that I know of, but since I'm disjointed from the family, I'm not sure how much that means." She admitted, before she soon left as well to check if Yu had finished bandaging Yoichi. She knocked on the door and heard Yu's voice come from inside loud and clear.

"You can come in now!"

Following his advice, and opening the door, her eyes landed on Yoichi, who was without the gray outer jacket of their uniform, exposing the white dress shirt underneath. His only visible bandages were the ones around his forehead. She could tell Yu had done them, since they were on the sloppy side. Yoichi was temporarily using Yu's bed and leaning up against the wall, drinking water from a glass that was nearly depleted.

The lavender haired girl could not help but examine the room that Yu called home, it was surprisingly normal in her standards. "Wow, I was expecting your room to be a little more… I don't know, exciting, a little bit blacker?"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, I wonder how girly your room is."

She chuckled. "Very girly I assure you. Yoichi, do you want me to fill that for you?"

"Yes please." Yoichi smiled warmly, handing her the glass. "Thank you both. You're both wonderful friends."

The two of them shared his smile. "Yeah well, that's what friends do right? Good ones at least." Yu remarked, a bit sheepish.

"Ah, Yu's getting embarrassed~" Shinoa grinned, talking in a sing song voice.

"Shut up, you're supposed to be getting water aren't you?!"

Shinoa and Yoichi shared a small chuckle as Shinoa left the room to get water. Soon, it was getting late and the two assisted Yoichi in arriving at his home for the night.


	3. Chapter 3: His First Encounter

A blond young man the age of sixteen was clomping through a perfectly polished hallway. For the first time in a long while, he was smiling, in pleasant mood. _Finally, it took me four years to find you, my old friend._ However, the smile slid off his pale face as he saw a certain man strolling the halls leisurely ahead of him.

Ferid Bathory. He despised him with all his being. Not only was he an awfully immoral man, even for this family, but he enjoyed tormenting him, playing with his emotions, waiting for him to snap. The boy even expected that he was responsible for the death of his family. But alas, he didn't have enough proof. He had the capacity, for sure.

After the fire, the Bathory family had adopted him, much to his misfortune. The 'family' was engaged in all sorts of illegal and unscrupulous behaviors. He did not engage in them much, except for the family meetings. He didn't go to school, he had a tutor instead and they insisted on wearing old fashioned, almost fully white outfits, which attracted all sorts of attention.

Once his eyes sighted the man, he turned to go the other direction, unfortunately for him, he had been spotted. Smirking like a demon, Ferid approached him. "Oh Mika~ didn't I hear that you finally found your precious angel?"

Mikaela strolled faster, an evident scowl on his features. "Go away, Ferid."

However, he persistently followed him like a fly buzzing around his ears, until eventually, Mika managed to lose him. _How did he know? I barely learned of this myself._ Mika wondered, a chill going down his spine. _If he tries to lay a hand on Yu, I'll kill him._

Feeling his forearm, he checked to make sure his hidden pocket knife was secure before he headed out. _Alright, so before I meet him, I want to do some information gathering…_

…

Yuichiro Hyakuya was still in a foul mood. Who could blame him after his friend had been badly bruised? Most people just stayed out of his way as he tromped through the halls of the school. He hated having to leave Yoichi but he had been assigned on a delivery much to his chagrin. On the way there, he glanced away for a mere moment and bumped into a tall pink-haired student with glasses and dropped the paper in his hands.

"Watch where you're going idiot!" They both exclaimed in unison. Yu gritted his teeth; he didn't have the patience for this.

"You bumped into me!" He protested.

"Hey, it takes two people, telephone post!" Yu growled in response. Before he knew it, the bespectacled young man had taken a swing at him, and Yu automatically aimed for an assault right back. The end result was a nasty bruise on his stomach which he was grateful for the location, since Guren wouldn't see it. I mean, he just got out of being punished for attacking those jerks that dared touch Yoichi. He would _actually_ get punished this time if Guren found out. But he hadn't even taken the first swing this time!

Once he returned to the classroom, his bubbling irritation increased as he learned that he was in this class with him. Not only that, but he was directly diagonal to him, in front of Yoichi's desk. Ugh, great, just great. As he took a seat next to Yoichi who still had bandages on his forehead, he leveled a glare at him that was swiftly returned. The brunet shuffled uncomfortably and whispered. "What happened, Yu?"

"It was the worst, I ran into this annoying telephone post." Yu hissed, and by the way the pink-haired young man stiffened, he knew that he heard him. Great, let him hear.

"Oh yeah?" Yoichi asked nervously, taking a look at the young man in front of him. Glancing behind him, Yu noticed Shinoa was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where did Shinoa go?" He wondered.

His puppy-like hazel eyes lost a bit of their light. "A blonde girl who's a friend of hers came by and said it was urgent. I hope everything is ok…"

"Oh." Yu's face lost a bit of its color. He couldn't believe all the unfortunate occurrences befalling them. His anger for the other student was combining with his concern for Shinoa in a messy pit in his stomach. Once class was over, with a glare he began speaking again.

"Hey idiot, my name's Shiho Kimizuki, so quit calling me 'telephone post.'"

"Yuichiro Hyakuya, quit calling me an idiot." Yu hissed in response.

"Ah… Yu, Kimizuki, you two should calm down." Yoichi chided, seeing the animosity between them. "What even happened between you two…?"

"The blind moron bumped into me and we fought." Kimizuki explained.

"Hah, fancy being called blind by a four-eyes." Yu remarked with a smirk.

"W-wait, you two hit each other?! But Yu, you barely got away with it with your guardian last time…!" Yoichi's voice held apprehension and urgency. Yu's face fell at the mention.

"Crap. Don't mention that to Guren, okay?"

"Okay, but still…"

"Pfft, you fight a lot, Yu?" Kimizuki stated, more than asked.

"That wasn't my fault!" Yu was quick to the offensive as Yoichi jumped as Yu jutted a finger in his direction. "Some bullying jerks beat him for no reason. You aren't that kind of bully are you?"

"Bully? Bullying is one-sided, Yu, we were in a fistfight. I'm not just some guy who beats people up for no reason."

"Good. Let's go check on Shinoa, Yoichi." Effectively making his point, Yu stood up to leave and Yoichi scrambled up after him.

"Hey, wait a second!" Kimizuki called after him, reaching for an arm to clutch, but instead of coming in contact with Yu's forearm, he had accidentally gripped onto Yoichi's forearm since he was closer. In shock, Yoichi glanced back at Kimizuki.

"Uh, Kimizuki?" He frowned, yanking his arm free as a bit of fear pooled in his eyes. Protectively, Yu stood in front of Yoichi.

"What the heck was that?!"

Kimizuki rolled his eyes. _Geez, he's protective._ "It's called an accident. I was trying to get you to stop. I have a question for you before you run off."

"And what's that?"

"Do you have strong connections to the Hiragi family? I heard that you did."

"What?! No! I mean…Well, I am friends with Shinoa, but I assume that's not what you mean. Why do you want to know?" _Should I tell him about Shinya? I mean I am pretty close with him since he comes over to our place so much…_

Kimizuki grew silent which surprised Yu and when the silence didn't lift, Yu sighed and decided to leave him to his lonesome.

...

The blond boy had paid one of the students in order to snag one of the uniforms of the school that his Yu was currently enrolled too. The only problem was that he had forgotten the directions to the school and his phone was dead on battery so he couldn't research it. Cursing his lack of oversight, he saw a purple-haired girl wearing the girl's version of his uniform. Pulling upon his lacking social skills, he approached the girl. "Do you know to the school from here?"

"Oh, another new student! Unfortunately, I'm new as well, so I'm bit lost..." She admitted.

Mika rolled his eyes and turned to leave when she continued talking.

"Buuuut, my friends are going to lead me the way there, if you want to wait. It'll be any minute now."

"Hmm, alright, but just for directions." He corrected. Mika didn't have any desire to be around any person any longer than necessary. Perhaps it was due to his family, but he had grown cynical in the way he thought of people. He thought of many as manipulative, selfish and greedy. Mika was certain that his precious, kind-hearted Yu would be manipulated by such people, which is one of the reasons he wanted to test the waters before he showed himself. He also didn't feel quite prepared for their reunion yet.

"So... What's your name? What grade are you in?" Shinoa chided.

"None of your business." Mika snapped coldly, not interested in conversation. Before Shinoa could press more, her two friends came into view, Mika's eyes widened at the sight. _That's- No! I'm not ready yet!_ Acting swiftly, he brought up his elbows to shield his face and hurried away.

"H-hey, wait a second!" Yu called to him as he was fleeing. _Hmm... I feel like I recognize him from somewhere but where? I don't know any blond boys my age..._ He thought, crossing his arms.

"Do you know that boy, Yu? He said he was a new student at the school." Shinoa wondered.

"Hmm... I don't know." Yu shook his head. "Oh, and Shinoa, I heard that something happened, is everything alright?"

"Oh, don't worry, my best friend Mitsu just needed a bit of help is all." Shinoa reassured, waving her hand dismissively.

"That's good, Yu and I were getting worried." Yoichi smiled.

"I-I wasn't worried!" Yu defended. "...that much." He added quietly.

Unknown to them, Mika was secretly watching the exchange. _Seems Yu hasn't change at all. But those people, do they actually care about Yu, or are they just using him as they please? I won't let them manipulate him._

He continued following the three from behind...

...

"Ugh, dang it!" Yu scowled at the red printing at the top of his test. He had failed the dang test, horribly. He had only gotten 25%. Guren was going to lecture him if he failed this class... He groaned when Shinoa glanced at the test over his shoulder and giggled.

"My, this is the best grade ever!" She chuckled, snatching the test and parading it around the classroom.

"Hey!" Yu snapped, chasing after her, not wanting other people to see his score, however they were already commenting on how much of an idiot he was for scoring so low. Yoichi came over and tried to smile reassuringly.

"Don't feel so bad, Yu, that test was pretty hard..."

Once Yu saw Kimizuki glancing over his shoulder, he growled and snatched Kimizuki's test. "Woah... How in the heck-!"

Curiously, Yoichi and Shinoa glanced over at the test. "Wow..." Yoichi muttered at the 100% printed plainly on the top. The bespectacled boy snatched the test back.

"Tsk, maybe if you studied a bit more, you would have scored so badly." Kimizuki commented.

"I studied plenty!" Yu retorted, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth. Before it could escalate, Yoichi stood in between them.

"Don't fight you guys!" Yoichi insisted, frowning. Yu rolled his eyes but headed back to his seat when Yoichi showed no sign of moving. The brunet hurried after him. "You know Yu, I didn't test all that well either, maybe we could study together?"

"Really? What did you get?" Yu glanced over at his test and snorted at 71%. "You call that not 'all that well'? That's way better than what I go, but that sounds like a good idea. I don't want to fail the next one too."

"Ooh, study party?! I wanna come!" Shinoa chuckled.

"You know, you shouldn't just eavesdrop." Yu snapped. "But I guess you can come. Hey, Kimizuki!"

"What, idiot?"

"You wanna come too?"

"Pfft, why would I?"

"Because you'll be around two people who have ties to the Hiragi family. You were asking about that the other day. You'll get that and I'll get a better grade."

"...Hmph. Fine." Kimizuki agreed.

"Oh, I'll invite Mitsu too, she's transferring to our class!" Shinoa smiled.

 _This is going to get hectic._ Yu thought with a grin. Once the trio was walking home, and Shinoa had waved goodbye and headed into her home, Yu spoke.

"Hey, Yoichi? Would you mind staying over for the night? I, erm... want to be prepared for when all of you to be there at once."

"That sounds great, I'm sure my parents won't mind. Just let me get something first." Yoichi smiled. Nodding, Yu leaned against a telephone post as he waited for his best friend to return. Though he knew it was quite unfounded, he couldn't help but be leery of parents after his had abandoned him. Soon, Yoichi was back out and smiling brightly. "I'm ready."

Nodding, Yu and Yoichi headed back to Yu's home. Once they arrived, Shinya was hanging around with Guren again, and he greeted them jovially. "Ah, my sister's not here with you today?"

"Nope, but there's all be over soon." Yu remarked.

"So, you made several friends now? Good." Guren remarked. _Better not tell him about that test..._ Yu thought.

"C'mon Yoichi." Yu urged, pulling him to his room by the wrist and closing the door. The small brunet set down his school bag.

"So... What are we doing?" Yoichi smiled.

"I have no idea, I've never had anyone stay over for the night before..." He muttered, which made Yoichi smile wider.

"Wow, I'm the first?"

"Well yeah, I guess so." Yu mumbled sheepishly. "...I have some video games... Or I'm sure there's some board games stashed away somewhere."

"Anything is fine with me."

After spending the day together, the two slept in two makeshift sleeping bags near each other. In the middle of the night, Yu jolted awake to a sound. Siting upright, he whipped his head around, to find Yoichi shaking. It was dark so it was difficult to tell but he could have sworn he saw the glisten of tears falling freely from his eyes, and he heard soft whimpers coming from him. Gently, he leveled a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, Yoichi. What's the matter?"

"Mmnn... sniff..." A few sobs came from him as he frame shook. "...Y-yu?"

"Yeah, I'm here with you." Yu reassured, to which Yoichi broke out in sobs, bolting upright and wrapping his arms around him. The ebony haired boy returned the gesture and rubbed the back of his head. "Was it a nightmare?"

Yoichi nodded and his voice came out weak. "I-I... was back there again... except that you were there too... a-and..."

"Hey, I get it. I've had nightmares about what happened to me too." He soothed.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, that's probably the reason I'm such a light sleeper."

When Yoichi calmed down, they shared a mutual understanding with each other that only they could share due to their similar experiences. Soon, Yu had managed to calm the brunet down enough so that they could go back to sleep. Both of them were grateful beyond realization for the other.


	4. Chapter 4: His Reunion

_Author's note! Sorry for the long wait everyone! In this chapter, contains the moment I'm sure a lot of you have been waiting for!_

"I order you to retrieve this document, Mikaela." Krul stated, gesturing to something on a sheet of paper. Krul Tepes, she was the leader of the Bathory family and the one responsible for adopting Mikaela. Despite her youthful appearance, light pink hair, and ebony dress, she was actually legally of age at twenty years old and only a few years his senior.

"Why me?" Mika frowned, glancing down at it more closely. "…From a man named Guren Ichinose."

"Because if I send anyone else, it might get ugly, and I'd rather not make too much of the enemies of the Hiragis." Krul explained, before she gave a fake sweet smile. "You're the softest of all of us, Mika."

"He's a Hiragi?"

"He's the best friend of Shinya Hiragi."

"Ah, I see." Mika nodded. "…And I assume I have no choice in this matter?"

"No."

"Then I'll get going. Is there a time limit on this?" Mikaela would rather not steal anything, but he was more concerned about the punishment he would receive if he didn't.

"Yes, get it within a few days." Krul nodded. The blond nodded before heading off to accomplish this mission.

…

"I wonder when the others are going to get here…" Yoichi murmured, setting down several textbooks for the other members of their group study meet.

"Who knows?" Yu shrugged. "If they don't show up soon, I'm going to spam them."

Yoichi gave a sheepish chuckle, as the two teens heard a knock on the door. The brunet stood up to greet the visitors. When he opened the door, he was greeted by a familiar lavender haired girl, along with a blonde girl wearing her hair up in pigtails. "Ah, you must be Shinoa's friend, it's nice to meet you." He greeted politely.

"Yes, this is Mitsu, say hi!" Shinoa grinned, eagerly pushing the blonde girl forward.

"Uh, hi, my name is Mitsuba Sangu." She spoke.

"I'm Yoichi Saotome." Yoichi smiled, as the ebony haired boy followed up behind him to check out the visitors.

"Yuichiro Hyakuya. Just don't break anything or Guren will kill me." Yu waved her off, except that Mitsuba was glaring at him for some reason which he returned.

"What's your problem?" Yu snapped.

"Kimizuki's not here yet?" Shinoa wondered, attempting to change the subject. Following her lead, Yoichi continued.

"It's only just barely the time we said we'd meet, we should give him a few more minutes."

"He _better_ be here, after I took the pain of getting Shinya over here for him to talk too." Yu frowned. Shinoa had told him about how Kimizuki had asked her about her ties to her family, which she had politely replied that she didn't participate much, so it would be easier to just ask Yu to call Shinya over.

"I'm sure he will be." Yoichi smiled confidently. "I made some drinks for all of us in the meantime. Let me go get them."

"Right, go ahead." Shinoa nodded, as the three of them sat down in a circle around the textbooks the two teens had out. As Yoichi went into the kitchen, he heard a rustle from behind him and whipped his head around at the sound. When he met with nothing out of the oridinary he shook his head at himself. _I must be imaging things._

Once he left the room, there was movement from the corner of the room as a blond boy stood up and shook out his limps, tired from hiding in a space that barely fit him. _That was close. I suppose I'm not quite as good at stealth as I thought._ He ventured forward, and searched for any secret or deserted area where the documents could be located. He only has a few days to retrieve them, and that wasn't enough time to figure out when the house was inhabited and when it was not due to his studies. So, he assumed the sooner he found them the better. _Have I seen that boy before? He seems familar somehow..._ Mika thought but shook his head at himself, and continued his search.

When Yoichi returned to the room, he noticed that Kimizuki had shown up after all, and was sitting across from Yu. "Oh, Kimizuki, you're here." The brunet smiled before he approached them, and leaned over in the middle of his group of friends to allow them to take a glass.

"My, what a gentleman you are, Yoichi! These two should take notes." Shinoa teased in a grin, before taking one of the glasses.

The ebony haired boy rolled his eyes, following her lead. "I never said I was a gentleman."

The brunet gave a small chuckle as Kimizuki took one as well and mumbled a half-hearted 'thanks.' When Yoichi turned to Mitsuba, she seemed reluctant. "That's iced tea, isn't it?

He nodded. "It's okay if you don't want any." Mitsuba shrugged and took one anyway.

"Ugh, this is way too sweet." Kimizuki frowned, setting it aside.

"Oh yeah, I probably made it a bit too sweet, do you want me to get you some water to dilute it?"

"It tastes fine to me, if Mr. Bitter Telephone Pole here doesn't like it, he can get his own water. You aren't his servant, Yoichi." Yu scowled.

"Ah, but I don't m-" Yoichi began before Kimizuki retorted.

"Pfft, it's not my fault your taste buds haven't grown up."

"Well if mine haven't grown up, yours must practically be an old man."

"I think it's too sweet too." Mitsuba added.

"Ugh seriously? You guys are way too picky." Yu shook his head.

"I think it tastes good." Shinoa smiled, and stood up. "I'll just go get the water~"

"Oh heck no! You're going to mess up the kitchen aren't you?!"

"Yu, you don't trust me? That's truly awful." Shinoa feigned hurt as she placed a hand over her eyes.

Yuichiro rolled his eyes. "Yoichi, can you get the water before Shinoa breaks something?"

"Sure." Yoichi nodded, heading back into the kitchen. Once he was inside, he had an eerie feeling in the room like someone was here, but he dismissed it, saying he was just being paranoid. Except the problem was that he wasn't quite certain where the water was. Eventually, he managed to find the water and returned to deliver the water to Mitsuba and Kimizuki.

Sighing petulantly at the amount of time it had taken for that boy to leave, the blond young man moved out of hiding to check the next room for the classified documents he sought.

"Well, what do we have here?"

The creamy blond whipped around at the sound, cursing his lack of secrecy. _How did he manage to enter the room under my guard?!_ He was greeted by a man in his early to mid twenties with short ebony hair and casual clothing.

"Judging by your clothing-" The man continued, who Mika assumed must be Guren Ichinose. "You're from the Bathory family right? Dang, they send kids to do their dirty work now?"

"I'm here for some classified documents you possess." Mika gritted his teeth. "…I assume you're not going to let me take them?"

"Nope. Can't let you just run off now either or you'll just be back again."

Confirming the hostile intentions he possessed, Mika rushed him with blinding speed, using a chair as his chosen weapon and swinging at the man's chest. He was too quick, too speedy for him to keep up with, resulting in him flying backwards into the table, smashing it to shreds.

Further behind Guren, Shinya was aiming his sniper gun at the white clad teen, but he was too dang fast! He was just about to give up and aim for a more direct attack when-

The "squad" of friends had all entered the room, brought forward by the whole BOOM and CRACK of the table breaking apart. They all stood in shock, eyes glued to the scene before them. Only the raven prepared to act. He had already abandoned his family at that orphanage so many years ago, he wouldn't, _couldn't,_ lose anyone else important to him. He quickly found a decent sized knife from the drawers in the kitchen and rushed him.

Normally, a basic and untrained attack would not have caught Mikaela off guard enough to actually strike him. However, his eyes widened, stunned when he saw the identity of the attacker, and the blade stuck him deeply in the shoulder. "Get _away_ from him, you-"

A sea of brilliant light blue locked with an emerald green.

The raven haired boy was just as stunned. His grip dropped on the knife and he took several steps backwards, almost losing his balance. His eyes were so wide, his mouth would have touched the floor if it was possible. It couldn't be…! It _couldn't_ be! He had died four years ago! Yet, here he was, alive. It _can't_ be possible?! Can it…?!

Shinya could have taken a wonderful shot now that he had stopped moving, but he decided against it. It seemed this young man might be important to Yu. So, instead he relaxed his position and went to check on his best friend. "You still alive over there, Guren?"

"…Nothing broken. Probably." Guren remarked briskly as he accepted the hand from his friend to pull himself out of the ruin that was once a table.

"M… Mika…?"

Mika swallowed. He hadn't expected this would be how they met. He had no clue his precious Yu was connected to this young man. Otherwise, otherwise, he would have protested more…! "…Yes, it's me, old friend."

Tears obscured Yu's vision and flooded onto his face before he could stop them. He had injured someone he had considered _family_ , someone he had _promised_ to protect. His lips quivered and his voice cracked with emotion. "So… After all this time… you're alive and I stabbed you?!"

"It's not your fault… You didn't know."

"I-I'll go get a first aid kit!" Yoichi announced, hurrying into the other room.

"A better question is how an old friend of Yu's managed to align himself with a rough bunch like Bathory." Guren remarked, stretching his sore shoulders back and forth and checking if anything was broken.

Abruptly, Mika's mind reminded him that he had been stabbed and that his shoulder was screaming in agony from the blow. Grimacing, Mika felt the area around his shoulder. He shouldn't take the knife out yet, not until they had a first aid kit. How terrible… How terrible that their reunion had gone so poorly. Out of the all the alternate versions he had thought up in his head, this had never crossed his mind.

The brunet returned with the first aid kit, and handed it over to Yu, who was directing Mika down to the floor. "Ugh, at least get a towel or something." Shinya frowned. "You'll get blood on the kitchen floor. It certainly isn't clean or comfortable either." Shinoa nodded in agreement, leaving the room but returning soon with a few mats and towels.

After that had been settled, Yu took one glance at the wound and felt bile rise from his throat but he shoved it down. He had caused this, so he had to be strong enough to handle the consequences. "I'll remove it." Mika announced grimly.

"Are you sure?" Yu questioned uncertainly, staring at it again.

"Yes." Mika responded, taking a shallow breath before he took a hold of it and yanked it out in a second. The pain exploded in his shoulder, causing him to cry out before he shoved it down. He almost lost consciousness for a moment there, but he refused to show such strong weakness. No need to make Yu feel even worse than he already did. To his credit, he already had everything ready for him, so he acted fast, numbing the area and stopping the bleeding.

"I'm so sorry, Mika…" Yu scowled, as he finished wrapping the bandages around his shoulder.

"It's okay, Yu-chan, it's okay…" Mika repeated, though the adrenaline was wearing off. He was losing a lot of his strength as he clothed himself with his black undershirt with the help of his friend.

"So… What now? Guren?" Shinya gazed at his friend for answers.

"Don't ask me. Isn't he an enemy of _your_ family?" Guren pointed out.

"Yeah, but this is _your_ house."

"He's not going to attack again with Yu here and an injury like that. Might as well let him stay here." Guren sighed. "At least until we figure out what to do with him."

"He can stay in my room. C'mon Mika, do you need me to carry you?"

"No… I'll be fine." Mika responded, using Yu's shoulder to support him as he carried him off to his room.


End file.
